Hello again,

Regarding the auger belt on my Craftsman II 825 machine model 768884900 (guessed to be about a 1996 model).

I am replacing the auger belt. Old belt broke, putting on a new one that I matched up from Napa.
Feels like there is a lot of slack on the belt when installed. The old belt measured 30”, this one is 30” with the V as close to the original as possible. How tight is the belt supposed to be when machine is cracked open? Does something tighten the belt up more after the machine is rejoined? I never got to feel how tight the original belt was, it was broken when I first laid eyes on it, hence the reason for me cracking it open.
While I am in there, I’m going to clean and lube. Other than the pully surfaces, where should I NOT lube?

Thank you in advance. Yes, this is what I am doing instead of watching stupid Super Bowl halftime show...

The belt should tighten when you pull the auger engage lever down. Make sure the cable from the auger drive lever to the idler bracket didn't slip off the rollers.

I look for belt slap when the engine is running and the auger is not engaged and when the auger is engaged. There should be no belt slap when engaged, a little is ok but shows stretch but still is fine.

One more thing not mentioned: belt width. There are more than one width of belts. The v-belt is designed to pull against the shoulders of the belt against the pulley, not the bottom. Get the wrong width belt and it will drop too far into the pulley. That and if it has an adjustable pulley (not likely but possible if replaced in the blowers history) and the width of the pulley shoulders aren't set correctly.

Just a thought.

Don't go too crazy with lubrication in the transmission area, you don't want oil or grease flying off shafts, chains or gears and onto either the aluminum drive disk or the rubber friction wheel that contacts the drive disk. Check out Donyboy73 videos on youtube. He gives excellent video instructions on many OPE repairs and shows how and where to lubricate snowblowers in general.

Also, your NAPA belt might not be suitable for a snowblower. If you just grabbed a automotive fan belt that was the right length and width, it won't last very long. You need to used belts rated for power transmission. Make sure your belt is routed correctly around the auger brake device and the idler wheel, which applies tension to the belt to take up the slack when you depress the auger lever.

Thank you for your responses.
I did go ahead and order a correct replacement belt, will be delivered next week. I’ll use this NAPA belt until the new one comes in, then use NAPA as a temporary replace the if needed in the future. Better yet, I’ll order an additional correct belt and have IT on hand.
After playing with the assembly more, it did tighten up ok when I actuated the auger. I put the machine back together, tied down auger lever and watched it. Belt tracked well and auger turned a lot faster than before (belt was really bad before, multiple cracks and chunks missing).
I’ll put the machine under a load this evening and see if belt slips any. I’ll keep in mind this belt may not last very long.